Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Steph Curry , NBA, Basketball, Michael Jordan, Lebron James
Luke Davies
Topics: Steph Curry , NBA, Basketball, Michael Jordan, Lebron James
NBA legend Steph Curry has a rare medical condition that very few fans know about.
Curry, 37, is widely regarded as one of the best basketball players of all time and is part of the greatest of all-time (GOAT) conversation alongside the likes of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.
He has won four NBA championships and has twice been named as the league’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and has achieved all of this despite having a medical condition called Keratoconus, which affects around one in every 375 individuals.
The disorder is defined as “a non-inflammatory eye condition in which the normally round dome-shaped clear window of the eye (cornea) progressively thins causing a cone-like bulge to develop. This eventually impairs the ability of the eye to focus properly, potentially causing poor vision,” according to Moorfields Eye Hospital.
After receiving his diagnosis, the NBA star managed the condition by wearing contact lenses.
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“I started wearing contacts,” Curry told The Athletic in 2019.
“No, I’m serious. It’s like the whole world has opened up.”
“I had gotten so used to squinting for so long,” Curry added. “It was just normal.”
The 37-year-old revealed that he only noticed the condition after his General Manager pointed it out.
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"The reason I found out I couldn't see very well is because our GM Bob Meyers saw me on TV one time just squinting, looking at the scoreboard," Curry told GQ in 2022.
"And he came up and asked me, he's like, 'Can you actually see?'
"And I was like, 'No, I just see the color orange really well.'
"And usually from about 25 feet."
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As per Compton Eye Associates one of the first steps in Curry’s treatment was the introduction of scleral contact lenses which are “particularly effective for keratoconus patients. These lenses can accommodate the cornea’s irregular shape, providing a clear path for light to enter the eye and significantly improving visual clarity.
“For Curry, this meant a dramatic enhancement in his on-court vision. It enables him to continue excelling in his basketball career without the visual limitations imposed by keratoconus”.
Since 2019, Curry has won multiple honours including the 2022 NBA title and has been selected in five consecutive NBA All-Star events.
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To add to this, he was part of the USA’s Olympic gold medal-winning team at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Curry has previously spoken about overcoming setbacks and adversity during the early days of his career.
"There was a lot of people who told me what I couldn't do or couldn't be [a professional],” Curry told Sky Sports in 2024.
“I kind of carried that underrated spirit all the way through, didn't get many college recruiting letters or scholarship offers from many of the big schools in Division One college basketball, and I was really a late bloomer.”